


neon coloured and sugar sweet

by lilaliacs



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Engagement, M/M, Wedding Planning, an ode to love tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 15:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20260330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilaliacs/pseuds/lilaliacs
Summary: “I was a little wrong,” Donghyuck says quietly, his eyes never leaving Mark’s face. “We’re the stuff that’s gonna last for eternity."





	neon coloured and sugar sweet

When Johnny had asked him: “Markus. Are you really sure about this?”, Mark had said to him that yes, he’s never been more sure of anything in all his life and he had also told him to stop calling him that and then he had asked if Johnny was crying, and before he knew it they were hugging and he had his brother’s blessings. 

Blessings of course, only go so far when it concerns something as monumental as the rest of your life on this earth. 

Donghyuck had scoffed when Mark had said that, about two weeks after that conversation with Johnny. “You really think you’re gonna be able to get rid of me in death?” He’d had tears streaming down his face though, and Jeno stood off to the side exclaiming “Oh my God, oh my fucking God,” repeatedly, and the ground under Mark’s knee was getting kind of cold, and Donghyuck still hadn’t actually said yes or taken the ring. 

Instead, he’d knelt down in front of Mark so they were on eye level. The gem on the ring Mark had chosen had reminded him of Donghyuck’s eyes, the way it sparkled. But seeing them in that moment, reflecting the fairylights strung all across Jaemin’s backyard, he’d felt stupid for ever thinking he could find something that came close. 

“I love you,” He’d repeated, and Donghyuck had laughed, or sobbed, or both, and he’d finally taken the ring, and then he’d laughed some more and said: “Our wedding rings are gonna be prettier than this, you loser.” And then he’d kissed him and Mark had been pretty sure he heard Renjun yell something along the lines of “Fucking finally!”, but he hadn’t really cared that much. 

So yes, he was very sure. He hadn’t felt an ounce of regret, not once in the past few weeks of stress and planning and well-meant advice from parents and friends. Not once had he doubted, or second guessed his decision to ask the love of his life, his best friend and soulmate, to marry him. 

“You’re a fucking idiot, Mark Lee,” The love of his life, best friend, soulmate, is deadpanning. “An absolute buffoon.” 

“Look, it’s not— We had things to do!” Mark tries to defend himself. He gestures around them, around the still pretty empty venue they’d just signed the lease for. It was one of the last ticks on the Cursed Wedding Checklist Of Hell, and the most important still left. At least it had been, until Donghyuck had realised another, very important box that was left unchecked, and he’d started looking at Mark all raised-eyebrow-hands-on-hips, and Mark was really put on the spot there. 

“This was one of the things we should have been doing   
!” Donghyuck gives back. From the corner of his eyes, Mark thinks he sees their wedding planner walking in, sensing the atmosphere, and slowly backing out. Taeil is a man of virtue, and Mark respects that, but in this moment he kind of wishes he would have interrupted them. 

“I tried,” He reminds Donghyuck with a sigh. “It didn’t go well.” 

Their wedding rings, according to Donghyuck are of utmost importance. 

“The rest of the wedding, all the glam and glitter and buttercream cake, is gonna disintegrate and fade under the wheels of time,” He had proclaimed the night they came home from the bakery for cake testing. There had been a little too much champagne. “Even our nimble mortal bodies will! But the rings will stand the test of time and last for eternity, they will stay as a testament of our bond and our love—“ 

Donghyuck had been pacing the length of their living room, while Mark was laying upside down on the couch. “You sound like you’re going to trek to, to fucking— Mordor. Are you going to forge our wedding rings at Mount Doom, Hyuckie?” He’d mumbled. Donghyuck’s glare had been scathing. 

“They have to be the most perfect wedding rings in the history of rings, you hopeless nerd,” He’d continued, undeterred, before he’d stopped right in front of Mark and leaned down so that their noses had nearly been touching. “Because our love is the most perfect one in the history of love.” 

It doesn’t take a genius, not even one drunk on champagne and riding on the tail ends of a sugar high from too much buttercream, to realise that it was excruciating, choosing rings. 

Some were too flashy, some too boring, some just not right. The few Donghyuck said he could make his peace with, Mark found a problem with, and at one point Yukhei nearly started crying when he asked about their progress and Mark had told him about the last five rings they didn’t end up choosing. “Being your best man,” He’d said, carefully composed. “Is the best and worst experience of my life.” And Mark thought that was probably fair. 

So they postponed the rings for a little, focussed on the rest of the wedding, and now basically everything is in place, except for one of the most central parts. 

“The wedding is next week,” Donghyuck reminds him. “In exactly six days.” 

Mark nods. “It sure is.” 

“So what do we do?” Donghyuck asks. Mark looks at him for a long moment, and Donghyuck looks back. Mark shrugs, and Donghyuck is still looking at him. 

Then, Donghyuck starts laughing. It’s a real laugh, a full one, loud and a little ugly, but the most beautiful thing Mark has ever seen or heard or felt, and soon he is laughing too and then Donghyuck’s arms are around his neck and Donghyuck’s face is right in front of his. 

“I love you,” Mark hears in between his own giggles, and he thinks that Donghyuck had it all wrong, because not even some eternal piece of metal is going to be able to outlast the feeling bubbling up within him. It’s the stuff the very fabric of the universe is made of. 

That night, he dozes off on the couch while going over his vows countless of times, the words swimming in front of his eyes with exhaustion and stress and love, so much love. 

He hears the door close behind Donghyuck but is too drowzy to look up until he is sitting right in front of him on the floor. “Hi,” Donghyuck grins, and his eyes shine, and Mark thinks again that this is the stuff the universe is made of. 

“Hey,” Mark smiles back. His eyes drift to his vows, still out on the coffee table. “Don’t look at that.” 

Donghyuck shakes his head. “Wasn’t going to, I’m trying to ignore the concept of emotional speeches until they happen. Jeno read me a bit of his best man speech just now and I was that close to bursting into tears and then he noticed and nearly burst into tears too and it just wasn’t pretty. The wedding is gonna be a catastrophe, it’s gonna be a domino effect of tears, no man left not sobbing.” He shudders exaggeratedly. Mark notices that Donghyuck is hiding something behind his back. 

“Whaddya got there?” He mumbles. Donghyuck’s eyes light up impossibly brighter. 

“I found the perfect wedding rings,” He simply says, and Mark blinks. 

“At Jeno’s house?” He asks. 

“At the convenience store next to it,” Donghyuck corrects and pulls out a brightly coloured plastic bag. 

Mark has to blink some more to make out the contents of it held up right in front of his face. It’s a bag of candy, neon coloured plastic rings holding hard candy in the shape of huge diamonds in place. 

“I was a little wrong,” Donghyuck says quietly, his eyes never leaving Mark’s face. It’s the closest he ever gets to admitting that out loud. Mark doesn’t point it out this time. “Mordor and Mount Doom have nothing on us,” Donghyuck continues. “We’re the stuff that’s gonna last for eternity. Because we’re us and we’re gonna have the most perfect wedding in the history of weddings next week.” 

Mark knows the grin on his face is the dopey kind that Donghyuck always points out, always tells him he loves. He puts a hand on the bag of candy that Donghyuck is still holding up between their faces, pushes it down a bit and sees a smile on Donghyuck’s, the brilliant kind that Mark always tells him he loves. 

“I love you,” He says, and he has counted how many times these words are in his vows (not enough), but he can’t say how many times he’s said it in the last few years (probably not enough either) and he can’t say how often he is going to say it for the rest of eternity (he’s going to try to make it enough). But he knows it’s always gonna be sugar-sweet and neon-coloured and perfect, and he has never been surer of anything.

**Author's Note:**

> felt bad for not posting anything in months so i decided to post this little thing i wrote for sarah. i also posted it on twt if it seems familiar to you!!


End file.
